13 countries seek $1.1 billion for IDPs in Northeast

In this photo taken on September 15, 2016, a child queue to enter one of the Unicef nutrition clinics in Muna informal settlement, which now houses more than 16,000 IDPs (internaly displaced people) in the outskirts of Maiduguri the capital of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.<br />AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS

Reps rue absence of data
No fewer than 13 countries are seeking $1.1 billion (N330 billion) as humanitarian assistance to 1.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east sub-region of the country.

The Ambassador of Ireland, Sean Hoy, disclosed this yesterday in Maiduguri, while briefing journalists about the “worsening humanitarian crisis” in the three affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

He said that the 13 ambassadors and representatives of Republic of Korea, Sweden, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, France, U.S, United Kingdom, and Norway among other countries; will attend the Oslo Conference slated for February 24, 2017 to raise the $1.1 billion.

The appeal fund, according to Hoy, was to address the humanitarian crises in the north east of Nigeria, adding that the displaced persons have been grossly lacking humanitarian assistances, including basic needs, such as shelter, water and health care services.

Hoy listed the four humanitarian intervention and assistance to include, protection of IDPs, food, security and education.

Meawhile, the House of Representatives yesterday lamented the absence of a comprehensive data of IDPs spread across various camps in the country.

The House committee on the north east, refugees and internally displaced persons has called on the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and the Displaced that such data would be required for effective planning and implementation of resettlement re-integration programmes.

The Sani Zorro-led committee which met with the federal commissioner for refugees and internally displaced persons and migrants , Hajia Sadiya Farouk on her outfit 2017 budget proposal also stressed the need for durable solutions to the problems of the IDPs in the polity.

Zorro urged the commission to partner with state governments and NGOs as well as the Federal Capital Territory Administration to get accurate data on the number of persons displaced across the country and how to resettle or integrate them.

Also, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has trained 400 clerics, youth and women leaders in the north east to help propagate counter-terrorism messages to the youth in the zone.

The CDD Programme Officer, Mr. Ikponmwosa Omoijiade, at a workshop yesterday in Yola said that the training which is sponsored by Japanese government is to de-radicalize extremism in the region.

He said the programme is yielding fruitful, pointing out that the clerics and the youth have now understand the implications of radical extremism by some clerics in the country.